Red vs Blue: Recovery One
by BentleyGirl
Summary: My novelization of the mini-series that came during/after the Blood Gulch Chronicles. Please read and review. UPDATED! Rated T for swearing
1. Part 1

**Rejoice, all ye faithful readers, for I have returned! I've managed to watch the next few series of Red vs. Blue and my mind is working overtime, so now I can continue. So deck the halls and ring any bells you have handy, it doesn't get any better than this!**

**Right, now that's over with, I now bring you the second mini-series that took place between the end of the Blood Gulch Chronicles and the start of the next series, although I get the feeling that these took place while the first part of the former was happening.**

**So, let's begin.**

* * *

Part 1

On a distant planet many light years from Earth, at the top of a tall tower in the mountains, a Spartan-II super-soldier stepped out of the teleporter and observed the scene before him. Four bodies of other Spartans lay in pools of blood and the walls were marked with bullet holes and blood splatters. He glanced around and spotted what he was looking for: the Spartan wearing brown armor. As he stepped out of the shadows, the light caught on his MJOLNIR armor, steel-gray with yellow highlights on his helmet and shoulders.

Carefully he approached the brown body, knelt down and slowly pulled off its helmet… and he knew he'd found his target. Under the helmet, the face of a young, brown-haired man in his mid-thirties stared lifeless at the sky. The soldier noted the scar on the left side of the man's face and the partly clouded eye. A sigh escaped the soldier's lips as he reached out and closed the man's eyes.

Then he lifted the helmet, pulled open a small panel and pressed some buttons. At once, a glowing green Spartan appeared on the dead man's chest. "Prime display activated," it said in a soft mechanical voice. "Restoring functions… Hello, how may I be of assistance to you?"

"Instruction: identify yourself," the soldier ordered.

"Executing," the smaller Spartan replied. "I am intelligence program Delta, as created for the special operative program Freelancer. I have been assigned to Agent Foxtrot Twelve, or York. My assignment was recently killed in combat."

"I noticed," the soldier muttered. "Hang on…" He stood up and activated the radio com-link in his helmet. "Come in, Command, this is Recovery 1. I've located the Delta AI. He appears intact."

"This is Command," the female communications operator responded. "We need a full inventory of the carrier's equipment before it's decommissioned."

"Why do you need that?" Recovery 1 asked puzzled.

"Recovery 1, please respond to the directive," the operator ordered. "Perform a complete inventory."

Recovery 1 sighed. "Roger Command. Recovery 1 out." He severed the call then knelt next to York's body. "Delta, instruction: run a full system diagnostic, with detail on armor components and analyze inventory."

"Executing…" Delta was silent for a few seconds then he spoke, "Result: all components present. Armor at 70% peak capacity."

"Not bad for an old locksmith," Recovery 1 chuckled. "Hey, I need you to start a countdown for me, one hundred on the clock."

"Initiating," Delta replied. "One hundred, ninety-nine, ninety-eight… May I make an inquiry?"

"Go ahead."

"Why was I not destroyed?"

"What?"

"When an assignee is killed in action, protocol dictates that all intelligence programs be destroyed."

"Yeah, that's what they told me too at first. But you were encrypted until you could be recovered. I'm here to recover you."

"Recovery carries risk. Destruction ensures that an AI will not fall into enemy hands."

Recovery 1 looked annoyed. "Are you complaining?"

"Not at all," Delta assured. "I'm just noting a discrepancy."

"What do you want from me, guy?" the agent snapped. "You cost a lot of money, okay? It's cheaper to recover you than it is to delete you. Go bitch to the accountants."

Delta gave a rueful look. "If I have offended you, I _do_ apologize."

"Yeah, I'm all busted up about it." Recovery 1 pulled out a small cartridge from his pocket and plugged it into a slot in York's helmet. "Now store yourself in a portable component, okay? I'm moving you."

"You could insert me into your own AI slot," Delta advised. "I do not show it as occupied."

"I don't think so."

"If you are having difficulty, I can walk you through the implantation procedure."

Recovery 1 turned his head away. "I don't do that."

The AI then stared through the soldier's visor for a moment. "Are you Agent Washington?"

The agent nodded slowly. "That's me."

"Then I understand," Delta muttered. "You had… difficulties with your assigned AI unit."

"Difficulties?" Washington thought for a moment then nodded. "Yeah, I suppose that's a word."

"In that case, I must insist that you terminate my program," Delta said worryingly. "Destruction dictates that an AI will not fall into-"

"Look, Delta, just relax," Washington interrupted. "I don't think you're in any danger of getting hijacked by one of the four dead guys here with us."

"Three."

"What?"

"My sensors indicate only three inert human forms. Yourself and one other remain active."

"What are-" Suddenly rifle rounds whizzed past Washington's head and with a cry, he dived for cover behind the wall next to York. "Great, thanks for telling me!"

"I suggest you return fire," Delta advised.

"Ya think?" Washington snapped, jumping aside to avoid the plasma grenade thrown at his feet.

As he ran out, he looked up to see his attacker, a Spartan in snow-white armor holding an assault rifle. _Wyoming? He must be here to take Delta. Not a chance in hell, you crazy bastard…_ Washington whipped out his machinegun and opened fire but Wyoming ducked behind a wall and fired back. Washington ran behind a pillar and fired again, but after a few shots, his gun began to click. "Dammit!"

He looked out to see Wyoming reload his rifle… and then turn and run away. Washington stepped out and stared in confusion. "What the hell?"

"Perhaps he realized that York's equipment was charged to detonate," Delta assumed. "Currently T-minus four."

"Instruction: Storage, now!" Washington yelled as he ran towards the AI.

"Executing," Delta replied before disappearing. "Two."

Washington ran up to York, pulled out the storage unit and ran towards the edge.

"One."

With that, he leapt right off the tower just as the charge in York's armor went off. As he fell, he could just feel the heat through his armor, then he landed on the sand dune below and rolled to the bottom. "Well, at least that was easier than the last one," he sighed, getting to his feet and dusting himself off.

As he started jogging back to his parked jeep, his radio buzzed. "Recovery 1, this is Command. We have a level one distress signal, immediate response necessary."

"I just wrapped that up, Command," Washington replied. "I'm headed home."

"Negative, Recovery 1, this is a new signal."

"That's the fifth one this month."

"Affirmative."

Washington sighed as he climbed into his jeep and drove off across the wasteland. "Alright, give me the coordinates. I'm on my way."

* * *

**And we will find out who sent the distress signal next time.**


	2. Part 2

**We now return to the next part of our story.**

* * *

Part 2

Several hours after he received the transmission, Washington drove up to the entrance of a derelict building and ran down the corridors, following the tracking signal in his helmet until he found what he was looking for. There, lying still on the walkway were two Spartans, one dressed in violet armor with green trim and the other in orchid-purple armor. At once he knew who they were; the twin agents North Dakota and South Dakota. He did a quick scan on each of them and saw that the light purple one was still alive so he woke her up, checked if she was alright and told her the bad news…

"What I don't get is the motion tracker," he muttered, checking over the dead Spartan's helmet. "No one can get by one of those while they're active. You sure you don't have anything in your logs?" When no reply came, he looked up. "South, are you with me? South!"

"What?" South yelled.

"I need you to concentrate, South, okay?" Washington said firmly. "I know he was your brother, but the sooner I can piece together what happened, the sooner we can track this guy."

"Right, uh, sorry," South sighed.

"Don't sweat it. Now, your logs. Nothing?"

"No, not even a ping."

"And you didn't hear anything."

"I heard him…" South gave a little sob. "I heard him scream. I came around the corner, and then… nothing."

"You mean you didn't see the attacker?"

"No I mean _nothing_. I heard him scream, I headed towards him, and then suddenly you're standing over me asking me if I'm alright and telling me my brother is dead."

"Yeah, you were out about eight hours. North's armor started a level one distress and they got me here stat."

"Yeah…" South bowed her head sadly.

"_Level one_, South," Washington clarified. "Something you wanna tell me?"

"I'm sure you already know," she replied, nodding at North's helmet.

"I need you to confirm it."

"He still had Theta."

"Well, I didn't find Theta on him, South. Did you take it?"

"No, I _don't have it_."

"Do you still have yours?"

"No, Wash, I never had one," South scowled. "I was in the implant group _behind you_, remember? And after what happened to you, nobody got any more."

"Don't sound so bitter," Washington scolded.

"Of course not," she sighed. "Bitter wouldn't win the war, right?"

Wash nodded his head slowly. "I have to take care of your brother now, South. You might not want to watch this part."

"Can I… have a few minutes alone with him first?" she asked.

Washington pondered it over. "You can have _one_ minute."

South gave a rueful smile as she knelt by her brother's side. "I guess I should say thank you."

"I guess you should get busy," Washington retorted, standing up and lowering North's helmet. "Your minute's already started."

With that, he stepped further down the walkway to wait then he switched on his radio.

"This is Recovery Command responding secure," the operator spoke.

"Command, this is Recovery 1," he replied.

"Hello Wash, we have you secure. Go ahead."

"I'm on the scene."

"What's the status of the twins?"

"North is KIA. South is still functioning."

"What is the status of North's AI?"

Washington was surprised by this. "You guys _knew_ he had Theta?"

"Recovery 1, please respond to the previous inquiry," the operator insisted. "What is the status of the artificial-"

"It's not here, okay?" Washington cut in. "It's gone. This one's gone too."

"Understood," the operator replied. "Please wait for directive." There was silence for a moment then she spoke. "Find out what you can, clean up the agent and report back."

"Already on it," Wash confirmed.

"The whereabouts of Theta are top priority, Recovery 1; you of all people do not need to be reminded."

"No, you're right," Wash agreed. "I don't need to be reminded of anything."

"The mission is now level zero."

Washington was shocked. "What?"

"We need a full recovery of the current incident."

"Are you serious?"

"Recovery 1, please confirm the previous directive," the operator demanded. "Recovery 1, please confirm you're now level zero, you are ordered-"

"Yeah, I got it." Wash ended the call then he turned and made his way back to South. "Time's up. I'm sorry."

South sighed and ran her hand through her brother's blonde curly hair. "I always thought being a twin was a hard thing. Everyone always finds a way to put you together. It's like you're not considered two people. Even when we were kids, our parents dressed us alike, and when we joined up and got sent to the program, they stuck us together. People thought we were _special_ somehow, I suppose. I used to hate that. All I ever wanted was to have my own life…" A tear trickled down her cheek as she bowed her head. "And here I am now, just wondering how I'm gonna live without him."

"Yeah," Washington murmured, slowly taking out his pistol. "I wouldn't go worrying about that if I were you…" Then he pointed it at South's head and pulled the trigger…

* * *

**Whoa, that was cold, dude, real cold.**


	3. Part 3

**I don't know if I should keep going after what happened last time, but for the sake of the readers, I must.**

* * *

Part 3

Washington waited a few seconds before he put his pistol away and knelt next to South's body. "You're dead now. Remember that."

"I don't understand any of this," South groaned, getting to her feet. "And my ears are still ringing from that shot you fired."

"It had to sound good for the radio." Washington then took out his storage unit from his pocket. "One second, I need to talk to somebody."

He pressed a button and Delta appeared on North's chest. "Hello, how may I be of assistance?"

South stepped back in alarm. "What, is that your AI? I thought it killed-"

"Pipe down, we don't have time for explanations," Wash hissed before turning to the AI. "Delta, have you been monitoring the situation?"

"I have," Delta replied with a nod.

"Are we set here? Is she clean?"

"Can I interpret that to mean 'is South now off of Command's active register?'"

"Yes."

"Affirmative."

"W-What register?" South cried.

Wash ignored her. "Instruction: give me thirty on North's clock. Hold on the log."

"Complying," Delta replied. "Completed."

"Now, log to Command and include a similar description of South's termination."

"That would be dishonest."

"Yes it would."

"Executing… Completed."

"Wait a minute," South stammered. "How did you get him to lie?"

"There's a lot you don't know," Washington replied mysteriously. "We're moving. Delta, storage."

"Complying," Delta replied as he disappeared.

Washington pocketed the storage unit and got to his feet. "Go."

He set off down the passageway but South didn't follow. "No."

Wash turned round in astonishment."Excuse me?"

"I am not moving an inch until you tell me what the hell is going on," she replied.

"Fine, stay here with your brother then." Washington turned back. "Everyone thinks you're dead anyway. And in fifteen seconds, that will be true."

"_Ten_ seconds," Delta corrected.

"No sweat off my back," Wash called out, running down the corridors. "Just one less lie for me to live…"

South glanced back at her brother and sighed. "Well, shit."

Two seconds after she'd left, North's armor detonated.

Sometime later, Wash pulled the jeep over by a waterside building and while South went off a little distance to get her anger out by shooting at pylons, he switched Delta on again.

"I've been monitoring the comm. channels," Delta explained.

"Try again," Washington demanded. "I need you to be as accurate as possible if you're going to cover me."

"Still no activity to indicate that Command suspects South is still alive."

"Good," the Recovery agent sighed. "That means we're clear."

"As much as you can be," Delta agreed. "And I would prefer if you did not use the word 'we'."

"Yeah, okay Delta," Wash sighed. "I promise to take the fall if we get caught." He noticed Delta glaring at him. "Right, sorry, if _I_ get caught."

"Thank you."

Washington then called out, "Now South, I need you to test something."

"I have concerns about our next action," Delta muttered as South approached. "Agent South never rated for something like this."

"Rated for _what?_" South asked puzzled. "What have you gotten me involved with?"

"_I_ didn't get involved in anything," Wash retorted. "_It_ did when it came after your brother."

"Agent Washington believes that something is hunting the Freelancers one by one," Delta explained more clearly.

"In the last month, I've been ordered to the sites of five different dying Freelancers in an effort to recover the intelligence programs."

"Why you?" South asked.

"Agent Washington's experience with the Epsilon program makes him a primary candidate for recovery," Delta replied.

"Epsilon?" South gasped. "Epsilon went insane and killed itself _inside his head!_ And from what I heard from the other recruits, he went nuts himself. Weren't you certified Article Twelve after that; unfit for duty?"

Washington nodded grimly. "The people that certified me were the same people that _un_certified me which, once they needed me, they did. Funny how the system works…"

"In either case, he is the logical choice," Delta continued. "It is highly unlikely Wash would attempt to steal an AI for his own purposes."

Washington then went back on topic. "Every Freelancer I've seen in the last four weeks has had three things in common: their AI was missing – but Delta here was left somehow; I think that was a fluke."

"My assignee was killed in an unrelated firefight," Delta explained.

"The agents were also dead, but for some reason you were left alive." Wash stared into South's eyes. "And I wanna know why that is…"

"You said three things," South cut in. "What's the third one?"

"During training, what enhancement did you get?"

"My armor enhancement? I can make a domed shield. Why?"

"Can you do it now?"

"Sure, wait a second…" South took a few steps back then pressed a button on her right wrist and slammed her fist into the ground… but nothing happened.

"The third thing they all had in common was that their enhancement was removed," Delta concluded.

"Just like yours," Wash agreed. "The Freelancers are being killed, South, and someone or something is stealing their AI and enhancements."

Delta nodded in agreement. "And now Agent Washington is trying to escort us back to headquarters as quickly as possible-"

"No," Washington cut in. "I'm not."

"Excuse me?"

"We don't need to. I've been following the trail of this thing for a while now. But once I got you, Delta, that changed. Now we're the ones being followed. South being left alive was nothing more than bait to slow me down." Wash looked back at his fellow agent. "This thing has already killed four different Freelancers, South."

"All agents with higher battle ratings than Wash," Delta added.

"Yes, thank you for pointing that out, Delta. I'm not going to be able to take it out by myself. Someone has to help me and protect Delta as well."

"I see now," Delta breathed. "That is why you want me to implant in South."

"Excuse me, in who?" South cried.

"The only way to properly protect me in combat is to integrate me into your armor," Delta explained. "Agent Washington will not allow me to do that."

"And somebody has to," Wash finished.

"I can't," South stammered nervously. "I haven't been rated for implantation."

"Well, make up your mind quickly," Washington said grimly, glancing over her shoulder. "It's here."

South looked round to see a figure ducking behind a pillar. Delta looked too. "My motion sensors-"

"-Are going to be useless," Wash cut in. "South, get Delta in your head now and flank left. We have to stand against this thing here-" Suddenly a rocket-propelled grenade shot over his head and blew up one off the pylons. "MOVE!"

As Wash ran for the cover of a wall, South stepped closer to Delta.

"I should warn you," Delta said as she knelt by him. "The first implantation can feel a little… odd."

South nodded as she picked up the storage unit and plugged it into her helmet.

* * *

**Stay tuned for the action-packed finale.**


	4. Part 4

**And now here's the final part of this mini-series.**

* * *

Part 4

_Flashback_

_Washington stood inside the briefing room, listening to what the Counselor was telling him, but his mind was in a tizzy. Every time he closed his eyes, he could still see… _him_, his AI partner Epsilon lying on the ground in his mind, shimmering, fading, calling out to him…_

"_Agent Washington? Agent Washington!"_

_Washington shook his head and looked up. "Sorry, what were you saying?"_

"_Were you thinking about Epsilon again, Agent Washington?" the Counselor's voice asked._

"_No," Wash lied._

"_What happened to Epsilon was not your fault, Agent Washington."_

"_I didn't think it was."_

"_We have safeguards for the unstable emotional patterns of an artificial intelligence. Sometimes these algorithms fail."_

"_Oh, so then it's your fault."_

"_We prefer to think of it as no one's fault, just a possible, but rare, unfortunate outcome."_

"_Really, how convenient."_

_The Counselor was silent for a moment. "Are you having new feelings about the incident?"_

"_No, just the same old feelings," Washington admitted. "You know, that I had another person in my head, and I got to experience first-hand as their mind unraveled while mixed with my own, that I still have trouble distinguishing between its disintegrating thoughts and mine… You know, the usual."_

"_What about the hostility from other agents who lost out on assignments once we suspended the use of implants?"_

_Wash just shrugged. _"_What _about_ them? Am I supposed to feel bad for them or something?"_

"_Do you think you could work with an AI or another agent ever again?"_

_Wash didn't hesitate when he replied. "No, I don't."_

"_Good," the Counselor beamed. "Then we have a job for you."_

_End Flashback_

Hidden behind the wall, Washington flinched as he felt the rifle rounds whizz past his head. "South, I need you out here now! Get over here right now, South. Where are you!?"

Nearby, South had finished the implantation of Delta but she was feeling very strange.

"Keep breathing," Delta told her in her mind. "Hearing my voice internally can be jarring at first. I am told it helps clear the mind to concentrate on one thing. May I suggest that you try-"

"Will you please not talk for a second?" South snapped. "That might help!"

"Technically, I am not talking."

"Delta, please!"

"My apologies."

With Delta silent, she shook her head and straightened up. "Okay, I'm feeling better."

"Remember to keep breathing," Delta spoke up.

"Yes, I'll keep that in mind," she muttered as she looked round. "How many enemies?"

"I do not detect any on my sensors, but the gunfire would indicate that we are facing only one. This is an atypical enemy. I can offer no advice."

"South, I need you out here now!" Wash called out.

"I'm on my way!" South whipped out her battle rifle and ran over to Wash's cover.

"I have functions that could assist in battle," Delta advised. "Would you like me to run the tutorial program?"

"Are you kidding me?" She ducked behind the wall and turned to her fellow Freelancer. "Wash, I'm here."

"Good, I need help on the left," Washington replied. "This guy moves fast, so keep your eyes open." He looked over and saw her close her eyes and groan. "South, you okay?"

At once, Delta appeared on her shoulder. "She is experiencing difficulty with my presence."

"_How_ difficult?"

"Patient has trouble-"

"I'm fine," South interrupted. "Let's get this guy!"

She made to step out of cover but Wash held her back. "No."

"No?" she gasped.

"See that ship?" Wash pointed to where a large purple plane-like vehicle was parked on a wall. "You get to it and take off. Get yourself and more importantly Delta back to base. I'll cover you as best I can."

"Wash, is your armor adequately compensating for your wounds?" Delta asked concerned.

"You're hit?" South cried.

"Just twice, I'm fine," Wash dismissed. "Movement on twos. On my mark; sync."

"But-"

"_Sync!_"

"Sync!"

"Move!"

With that, Washington leapt out of cover to fire back but as he did, South raised her rifle and fired at him, sending him flying over the edge and down to the beach below.

"Alarm!" Delta cried as his body flashed red. "Friendly target, cease fire!"

"Calm down," South reassured, switching the AI off. "I'm just stacking the deck in our favor."

She stepped out of cover and faced her attacker. Its body was glowing brightly and changing colors so she couldn't get a good look at it, but she could see that it was wielding a very big gun.

"Listen to what I'm about to say, because you have a choice," she yelled at the figure. "Wash is dead. I put a timed charge on his body. So if you want his equipment, you'd better get it, now. Or you can come after us and lose it for sure. So, what's it going to be? Chase us in hopes of beating us, or go for the sure thing and find us another day?"

The figure gave a low hissing growl then turned and ran to where Wash had fallen.

"Smart move," South smirked then she turned and ran for the ship. As she climbed on and took off, she switched on her radio. "Come in, Command."

"Hello, Recovery 2," the operator replied. "What is your status?"

"Mission accomplished Command. We were able to draw out the enemy, just as you projected. Sending logs now."

"Excellent news. We'll use the data to devise a new strategy to combat it. What is the status of Recovery 1?"

"KIA. The enemy took him down."

"Understood. Was Wash ever aware of your efforts at any time?"

South gave a wry smile. "Negative. He acted exactly as the profile predicted. He even set up the encounter."

"Return to base, we'll rate you for implantation as agreed."

"Negative."

The operator gasped. "_Say again_, Recovery 2?"

"Negative. You got what you wanted and I have my AI now. You won't be hearing from me again. Goodbye."

"South, you know we have other agents. We will find you, South."

South gave a little grin as she switched off her radio and flew off across the sky. "It's not you I'm worried about."

* * *

**And there you go, an introduction to the mystery of the next three series. Thanks to you all for reading and I will see you next time for Red vs. Blue: Reconstruction.**


End file.
